The present invention relates generally to a method for replicating a three-dimensional imprint pattern on a compliant media of arbitrary size. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method for replicating one or more photopolymer shims that include an imprint stamp on a compliant media that can be used to transfer a high resolution three-dimensional imprint pattern carried on the imprint stamp to another media that is brought into contact with the compliant media in a soft lithography printing process.
Large scale shims are often created from smaller masters using a process called recombination. In recombination, a small master stamp is alternately heated and cooled while embossing a thermoplastic substrate. As a result, a pattern in the master stamp is transferred to the thermoplastic substrate. The thermoplastic substrate can then be plated or otherwise coated to create other shims. The machines used for the aforementioned process are expensive (e.g. xe2x89xa7$90,000) and are not guaranteed to work with patterns that are submicron (i.e. less than 1.0 xcexcm) in dimension due to a relatively high viscosity of the thermoplastic substrate when in a molten state. Other proprietary processes are available, such as automated holographic systems, for example. However, those proprietary systems are also expensive and the cost per shim can exceed several thousand dollars per shim.
Polydimethyl Siloxane (PDMS), a silicone rubber, is widely recognized as a good material for soft lithography because of its flexibility, non-stick properties, and transparency to ultraviolet light. However, in thin sheets, PDMS is very difficult to handle because it is elastic, tears easily, and tends to stick to itself.
Consequently, there is a need for a low cost, durable, and easy to handle compliant media for carrying an imprint stamp for use in a soft lithography process. There is also a need for a compliant media that can support an imprint stamp having submicron feature sizes. There exists a need for a compliant media that is optically transparent, particularly to ultraviolet light. Finally, there is a need for a compliant media that is flexible, durable, and can be connected with a belt or a cylinder.
Broadly, the present invention is embodied in a method for replicating a high resolution three-dimensional imprint pattern on a compliant media of arbitrary size. The compliant media can be connected with a flexible belt material or it can be connected with a cylinder. The compliant media carries an imprint stamp that can include features having a submicron (i.e. less than 1.0 xcexcm) feature size. The compliant media can be made any size and the imprint patterns carried by the compliant media can be made from the same master substrate or from different master substrates.
Advantages of the compliant media of the present invention include it can be manufactured at a low cost in a bench top laboratory environment, the compliant media is durable, flexible, and can be made from optically transparent materials, particularly, materials that are optically transparent to ultraviolet light. The compliant media can be connected with an optically transparent belt or cylinder for use in a soft lithography process wherein the imprint stamp carried by the compliant media is used to emboss another substrate that can be coated with a photopolymer material and is then cured by an ultraviolet light source contemporaneously with the embossing step.
Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles of the present invention.